Bosses, Not Workers, To Be Trained

November 25, 2013

More bosses will be trained as the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) shifts its focus to them in a bid to improve how Singapore’s service industry firms do business.

According to a Straits Times article titled “Bosses in service line to be trained”, managers will be trained to redesign jobs, streamline work processes and analyse data from consumers so that they can develop better products and services.

Labour chief Lim Swee Say said: “Business leaders and managers should be constantly updated on the current trends and developments in the service industry and come up with a compelling strategy that works for the staff, business partners and the customers.”

Mr Lim said transformation starts at the top, and that employers can help boost standards in their firms and motivate their staff. He also suggested ways in which bosses could do this, including:

Visualising clearly the service culture they want to create for their company,

Envisioning their customers’ service experience, and

Making career development in the industry more attractive.

Making jobs more professional and attractive would motivate employees and engage them actively. Workers would also serve with pride if they can see a future in what they do, he said.

This latest initiative is part of a $60 million move by the government to train 90,000 service industry bosses and workers over the next 3 years. Part of these courses upgrade employees’ and bosses’ skills, awarding them with certificates and diplomas after they have completed the courses to allow career progression.

Rikvin acknowledges that while the training of employers is beneficial for the overall productivity of the firm, there still has to be sufficient communication and exchange of ideas between employer and employee for it to be fully effective.

“Bringing managers into the training process is undoubtedly very useful for increasing a firm’s productivity and innovation, as it can help employers rethink their work flows and come up with more innovative products and services to continue competing in the market,” said Mr Satish Bakhda, Head of Operations, Rikvin.

“However, there must be sufficient communication between employers and employees, so that workers can feedback on the new strategies which their bosses have come up with. This will help tweak the new strategy into something which can be implemented. Simply enforcing the new strategy without hearing what their employees have to say can be detrimental,” Mr Bakhda said.